Kerry Wood is heading to the Cubs Hall of Fame. And the former Chicago pitcher found out about the honor in a special way.
Wood and former Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramírez stood by the stage at the Cubs Convention last week, not knowing why they were there. Then the voices of their sons, Justin Wood and Aramis Ramírez Jr., came over a video announcing that the two players would be inducted into the Cubs hall of fame this summer.
“I was so caught off guard,” Wood said, via the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. “You’re listening to the video and then you start to hear your son’s voice and it’s like, oh, and then you’re trying to compose it before you go out (on stage).”
Wood spent the majority of his 14-season major-league career in Chicago but also made stops with Cleveland and the Yankees. In 2010, he was 2-0 for New York in 24 relief appearances.
Wood, 46, finished with a career record of 86-75 with 63 saves and a 3.67 ERA. He recorded more than 200 strikeouts in four of his first five seasons and was a two-time All-Star. He transitioned to a relief role in 2007 after dealing with injuries (he was placed on the injured list 14 times in his career).
Wood and Ramírez will be inducted this summer.